Les Paul and Mary Ford were a popular 1950s husband-and-wife duo, in which … Read Full Bio ↴Les Paul and Mary Ford were a popular 1950s husband-and-wife duo, in which Les Paul played guitar and sang (sometimes) and Mary Ford sang and played guitar. In 1951 alone, they sold six million records.
Les Paul (Lester William Polsfuss, June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009) and Mary Ford (Iris Colleen Summers, July 7, 1924 – September 30, 1977) were introduced to each other by Gene Autry in 1946 and married in 1949.
They first appeared in the pop charts in 1950. Between the years 1950 and 1954, Les Paul and Mary Ford had 16 top-ten hits. They had five top-ten hits within nine months. "Tennessee Waltz", "Mockin' Bird Hill", "How High the Moon" (#1 for nine weeks), "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" and "Whispering". From August 1952 to March 1953 they had five more top-ten hits; "My Baby's Coming Home", "Lady of Spain", "Bye Bye Blues", "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" and "Vaya Con Dios" (#1 for 11 weeks). Their 1954 version of "I'm a Fool to Care" went to #6, and was featured in a memorable Southern Comfort commercial in 2013 that got over 1 million views on YouTube.
In 2009, they were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
Les Paul and Mary Ford are famous for creating a makeshift recording studio in their garage. In their garage studio, they used multitrack recording to record many of their hits including ‘Lover’, ‘Nola’, ‘Brazil’ and ‘Whispering' with only the two of them.
YouTube has a large selection of clips from their syndicated TV show "Les Paul & Mary Ford At Home" (1954-'55).
Les Paul and Mary Ford divorced acrimoniously in December 1964, which also ended the collaboration between the two.
The duo have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Les Paul had hosted a 15-minute radio program, The Les Paul Show, on NBC in 1950, featuring his trio (himself, Ford, and rhythm player Eddie Stapleton) and his electronics, recorded from their home and with gentle humour between Paul and Ford bridging musical selections, some of which had already been successful on records, some of which anticipated the couple's recordings, and many of which presented dazzling re-interpretations of such jazz and pop selections as "In the Mood," "Little Rock Getaway," "Brazil," and "Tiger Rag." Several recordings of these shows survive among old-time radio collectors today.
The show also appeared on television a few years later with the same format, but excluding the trio and retitled The Les Paul & Mary Ford Show (aka Les Paul & Mary Ford At Home) with "Vaya Con Dios" as a theme song. Sponsored by Warner Lambert's Listerine, it was widely syndicated during 1954–55 and was only five minutes long (one or two songs) on film and therefore used as a brief interlude or fill-in on programming schedules. Since Les created the entire show himself, including audio and video, he maintained the original recordings and was in the process of restoring them to up-to-date quality at the time of his death.
Les Paul (Lester William Polsfuss, June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009) and Mary Ford (Iris Colleen Summers, July 7, 1924 – September 30, 1977) were introduced to each other by Gene Autry in 1946 and married in 1949.
They first appeared in the pop charts in 1950. Between the years 1950 and 1954, Les Paul and Mary Ford had 16 top-ten hits. They had five top-ten hits within nine months. "Tennessee Waltz", "Mockin' Bird Hill", "How High the Moon" (#1 for nine weeks), "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" and "Whispering". From August 1952 to March 1953 they had five more top-ten hits; "My Baby's Coming Home", "Lady of Spain", "Bye Bye Blues", "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" and "Vaya Con Dios" (#1 for 11 weeks). Their 1954 version of "I'm a Fool to Care" went to #6, and was featured in a memorable Southern Comfort commercial in 2013 that got over 1 million views on YouTube.
In 2009, they were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
Les Paul and Mary Ford are famous for creating a makeshift recording studio in their garage. In their garage studio, they used multitrack recording to record many of their hits including ‘Lover’, ‘Nola’, ‘Brazil’ and ‘Whispering' with only the two of them.
YouTube has a large selection of clips from their syndicated TV show "Les Paul & Mary Ford At Home" (1954-'55).
Les Paul and Mary Ford divorced acrimoniously in December 1964, which also ended the collaboration between the two.
The duo have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Les Paul had hosted a 15-minute radio program, The Les Paul Show, on NBC in 1950, featuring his trio (himself, Ford, and rhythm player Eddie Stapleton) and his electronics, recorded from their home and with gentle humour between Paul and Ford bridging musical selections, some of which had already been successful on records, some of which anticipated the couple's recordings, and many of which presented dazzling re-interpretations of such jazz and pop selections as "In the Mood," "Little Rock Getaway," "Brazil," and "Tiger Rag." Several recordings of these shows survive among old-time radio collectors today.
The show also appeared on television a few years later with the same format, but excluding the trio and retitled The Les Paul & Mary Ford Show (aka Les Paul & Mary Ford At Home) with "Vaya Con Dios" as a theme song. Sponsored by Warner Lambert's Listerine, it was widely syndicated during 1954–55 and was only five minutes long (one or two songs) on film and therefore used as a brief interlude or fill-in on programming schedules. Since Les created the entire show himself, including audio and video, he maintained the original recordings and was in the process of restoring them to up-to-date quality at the time of his death.
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The Best Of The Capitol Masters
Les Paul & Mary Ford Lyrics
Bye Bye Blues I got a big surprise when I saw you smile I…
How High The Moon Somewhere there's music How faint the tune Somewhere there's…
Hummingbird Hummingbird, hummingbird should be your name Too restless to…
I Really Don't Want to Know How many arms have held you And hated to let you…
I'm a Fool to Care I'm a fool to care when you treat me this…
I'm Sitting On Top of the World I'm sitting on top of the world Just rolling along, Just…
In the Good Old Summertime There's a time each year That we always hold dear Good old…
Just One More Chance Just one more chance To prove it's you alone I care…
Lady of Spain Lady of Spain I adore you Right from the night…
Lover You went away I let you We broke the ties that bind I…
Mockin' Bird Hill When the sun in the mornin' peeps over the hill And…
Tennessee Waltz I was dancin' with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz When…
The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise Dear one, the world is waiting for the sunrise Ev'ry rose…
Tiger Rag Where's that tiger! Where's that tiger! Where's that tiger! …
Vaya Con Dios Now the hacienda's dark, the town is sleeping Now the time…
Whispering Don't worry I'm not looking at you Gorgeous and dressed in…
Whither Thou Goest Whither thou goest, I will go. Wherever thou lodgest, I wil…
We also have lyrics for these tracks by Les Paul:
Bye Bye Blues I got a big surprise when I saw you smile I…
How High the Moon Somewhere there's music How faint the tune Somewhere there's…
Hummingbird Hummingbird, hummingbird should be your name Too restless to…
I Really Don't Want to Know How many arms have held you And hated to let you…
I'm a Fool to Care I'm a fool to care when you treat me this…
I'm Sitting On Top of the World I'm sitting on top of the world Just rolling along, Just…
In the Good Old Summertime There's a time each year That we always hold dear Good old…
Just One More Chance Just one more chance To prove it's you alone I care…
Lady of Spain Lady of Spain I adore you Right from the night…
Lover (Sigmund Romberg / Frank Mandel / Laurence Schwab / Oscar…
Mockin' Bird Hill When the sun in the mornin' peeps over the hill And…
Tennessee Waltz I was dancin' with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz When…
The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise Dear one, the world is waiting for the sunrise Ev'ry rose…
Tiger Rag Where's that tiger! Where's that tiger! Where's that tiger! …
Vaya Con Dios Now the hacienda's dark, the town is sleeping Now the time…
Whispering Don't worry I'm not looking at you Gorgeous and dressed in…
Whither Thou Goest Whither thou goest, I will go. Wherever thou lodgest, I…
We also have lyrics for these tracks by Mary Ford:
Bye Bye Blues I got a big surprise when I saw you smile I…
How High the Moon Somewhere there's music How faint the tune Somewhere there's…
I Really Don't Want to Know Kiss me once, then kiss me twice, then kiss me…
I'm a Fool to Care I'm a fool to care When you treat me this way I…
I'm Sitting on Top of the World I'm sitting on top of the world Just rolling along, Just…
In The Good Old Summertime There's a time each year That we always hold dear Good old…
Just One More Chance Just one more chance To prove it's you alone I care…
Mockin' Bird Hill When the sun in the mornin' peeps over the hill And…
Tennessee Waltz I was dancin' with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz When…
The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise Dear one, the world is waiting for the sunrise Ev'ry rose…
Tiger Rag Where's that tiger! Where's that tiger! Where's that tiger! …
Vaya Con Dios Now the hacienda's dark, the town is sleeping Now the time…
Whispering Don't worry I'm not looking at you Gorgeous and dressed in…